


Changing The Timeline

by GuardianCherisher



Category: AU - Fandom, Gravity Falls
Genre: AU, Gravity Falls - Freeform, Memory Loss, Starla - Freeform, Tragedy, Young Stan, fixing some things, young ford
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-04 18:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5344091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianCherisher/pseuds/GuardianCherisher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My first Gravity Falls fan fiction. Please don't run away just yet. This story is about what if Stanley Pines mysteriously disappeared before he accidentally destroyed his brother’s project? What happened to Stan? Who would be responsible for such a kidnapping? Will Ford be able to find out what happened to his brother? <br/>Also can be found here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11584846/1/Gravity-Falls-Changing-the-Timeline   <br/>Gravity Falls/Alex Hirsch</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was late at night in the High School parking lot. Stanley Pines was on his way to his car. He could hardly remember the last time he didn't have to stay after school for something stupid he said or did. He was a pro at getting in trouble, that was a given. Beginning to open his car door, he stops. His ears perked up. He swore he heard something. Looking around the empty parking lot, he found it disturbingly quiet. Too quiet. Shadows were created everywhere by the buildings, the trees, and even his own car. They were everywhere and they didn't help his nerves.

 _If I get mugged in this parking lot again, so help me, I will not be responsible for my actions,_  he thought as he was ready for a fight. Heck, he kind of wanted one after the day he was having. Yeah, he wasn't having a good day and something like that would only add more to his already huge pile of problems.

When nothing happened, Stan finally decided to get into his vehicle. Shrugging off the noise as paranoia and stress, he started to put the keys in the ignition. He wanted to drive away, honest he did, but he just couldn't manage to start the car up. He groaned, leaning back on the driver's seat. What a day he was having.

Stan's mind flashes back to his awful day. He wasn't really surprised that his name was called to the principal's office, but when they called his brother's name along with his. He couldn't help, but feel a little suspicious.

When they reached the office, he naturally tried to go in first, but was stopped by the secretary. She motioned Ford to go in and not him. His brother looked a little nervous because of it. Ford was not used to the principal's office as much as Stanley was. Sitting down in a chair, Stan waved his brother off towards the door with indifference. Stan raised an eyebrow as his brother entered the room. Ford found his parents sitting waiting for him. His father stood tall with his arms crossed and his mother looked ready for anything. Ford sat down between his parents and the principal started to talk frankly to them. Stan couldn't resist listening in on the conversation.

What Stan heard, seemed to make his entire world fall apart. The principal basically called him worthless with little to no future. As for his brother, Ford was being praised for his recent science project. Ford even has a chance to get a scholarship into one of the best colleges in the country. Stan would be lucky if he even made it through high school. His mind had a sudden realization that if his brother got into that college, he would be a brother short. How would he be able to live without his brother around? Stan really depended on his brother when it came to academics and stuff like it. Worst of all, how would he be able to protect Ford? Ford had always been picked on for his six-fingered hands and Stan made it his duty to punch the lights out of anyone that would even dare to stare at them. The twins would be separated. They have never been separated before, not like that anyway. Stan's mind was spinning uncontrollably with fear, rage, hurt, and a little jealously. Before he realized it the door opened and his family came out.

They were all so proud of Ford. He has a bright future ahead of him, unlike Stanley. Stan quickly buried those feelings of his deep within his mind and put on a smile for his brother. Stan couldn't say that he wasn't proud of Ford too, but he couldn't help but feel like he was being abandoned.

Back in the car, he looked at his watch to see what the time was. It was almost six and groaned, lying back on the driver's seat.

It didn't really matter what time he got home. Sometimes he purposely stayed away from his family just to get some peace and quiet. The Pines household wasn't exactly a picture perfect home.

At least he had Ford,  _for however long that lasts_. Stan thought to himself. Thinking of his brother made him smile at all the things they did when they were little. It only made the situation hurt a little more. Stan soon became so bored to death he forced himself to get out of the confining space. He needed to stretch his legs.

Completely forgot about any dangers that could be in the shadows, he started making his way towards the school. Maybe a walk would do him some good mentally wise. It could help him get some of the more edgy emotions out of his system. Heck, maybe he'll make his way toward the gym where the science fair junk is at and destroy Ford's machine. Rage started to flicker in Stan's eye, at the thought of that stupid contraption, but Ford worked so hard on it. Stan's secret smile started to fade and he quickly pushed the idea out of his mind.

 _Nah_ , he frowned, knowing that such an action would probably not end well. Although he couldn't help but mindlessly walk in the direction of the science fair. Little did he realize it or not. Something suddenly appeared out of nowhere from behind him.

A surge of pain went through his body from being hit in the head with some kind of blunt force object. He yelped in pain, before blacking out. Stan was on the ground of the parking lot with a mysterious cloaked figure over him. A black tape measure with a green hourglass-type looking symbol on it was at the person's hip. Taking their hood off, he/she spoke to the unconscious Stan.

"Sorry, Stan, but I can't let you go in there…or anywhere else again."


	2. Chapter 2

Ford awoke early in the morning, a big grin plastered on his face. He leapt out of bed, pumped for action. After making it to the ground from the top bunk, he turned around fast expecting to see his brother.

"Stanley, today's the…day?" Ford found his brother's bed empty, not that he was surprised. He shrugged, only a little disappointed that his brother wasn't home yet. He always pulled this type of thing when things get hard and lately Stanley wasn't really enthusiastic about Ford moving to the other side of the country.

 _Of course, that knucklehead had to pick today of all days to disappear off the face of the earth._  Ford thought to himself, sighing. He wasn't going to let that get him down though. Today was still the day he was going to present his perpetual motion machine to the world. Or at least to the West Coast Tech representatives.

As he got ready for school, he decided he'd bring a change of clothes for Stanley, just in case he ran into him at school. It was unlikely though, whether Stanley was in a good mood or a bad mood, he usually skipped his classes. Stuffing the clothing in a bag, ford thought about his brother. Maybe…his brother had taken the news hard than he originally perceived. Ford was a genius, no doubt about that, but not even he could predict how his brother would react to him being moved across country. Still, this was Ford's dream college. If things go well, he could be a millionaire and they could do anything they wanted together.

 _We could even travel the world looking for treasure_ , he thought and gave a little chuckle. Stanley will be fine on his own anyway. He has always been the strong one and will fight for what he believes in. Some don't have the courage to even do that much.

Ford made his way down the stairs, entering into the kitchen. His mother was making breakfast and his father was reading the newspaper.

"Hi, Ma. Hi, Pa" Ford said making his presence known. Ford started to rummage for something to eat.

"Morning, sweetie" His mother was the first to reply, her husband looked up from his newspaper.

"Don't you think that's enough coffee, Hon?" He questioned as his wife poured herself another cup. His voice was rough and it had signs of a true New Jersey accent, just like Ma. She glared at her husband.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion, sweet thing" She spoke back and he wasn't in the slightest impressed by her demeanor.

"I don't remember either, but I do remember the last time you had too much coffee" He spat back and both male family members shuddered. Ford wanted to make a quick getaway, but was stopped short by his mother.

"Stanford, have you seen your brother? It's his turn to wake up little Shermy." Ford turned around a little irritated. This wasn't the first time, Stan ditched in waking up their youngest brother, Shermy. Ever since he was born, each family member had to take turns caring for the baby. It was only fair.

"I haven't seen him" Ford replied.

"If that Knucklehead knows what's good for him he'll stay far away cause' if I get my hands on him there will be hell to pay" His father commented and Ford knew he was serious. Ma gave her husband, what seemed to be, an all knowing look on her face.

"Your one to talk" She said. Though it may have looked like Pa was cool and collected he was starting to get a little worried on what she'd reveal.

"Ford, go and get Shermy while I make his bottle" Just as Ford predicted, his mother had called on him to pick up his twin's slack. He groaned irritated as he walked up the stairs towards the little nursery, which seemed more like a closet than anything else.

Ford entered the room hesitantly, making his way in the direction of the crib. He nervously looked at his six fingered hands. Ford was always self-conscious of his hands, but it was always worse when it involved carrying his baby brother. Shermy was just so fragile and, ever since he was born, Ford avoided physical contact. It was like he feared, that if he touched his brother, Shermy would have some abnormality too.

His little brother began to wake up and looked disapprovingly at Ford. If Shermy could communicate verbally it would be something along the lines of  _'who the hell are you and what have you done with my mother?'_

After what seemed like few minutes, Ford slowly reached his hands into the crib, looking somewhat sympathetic at the babe.

"I know, I wouldn't be my first pick either, but it's just something we have to and for both are sakes, it would be best to just get it over and done with." Ford whispered as Shermy became very upset. He held his brother close, looking sad as he walked out, sighing.

Ford came into the kitchen. He placed Shermy in a high chair as quick as he could, while still being very careful not to hurt him. As soon as Shermy saw Ma, it was like Christmas came early for him.

"Thank you, hon, now hurry on out to school, if you know what's good for ya" Ford gave his mother a half-smile in reply. He wasn't too positive if Shermy would ever warm up to him, but, if things go well today, it might not even matter. Ford started to leave

"Good luck, Sweetie!" Ma yelled to her departing son.

"Don't screw up!" Pa yelled from the other room rather sternly. If Ford had stayed he would have seen Ma hit Pa upside the head for such a comment. Pa most likely thinking  _Yeah, I probably deserved that._

Fast-forwarding through the school day, there was no sign of Stanley. No big deal. It was, now, time to get ready to present his project to a small group of West Coast Tech representatives. His mind firing on all cylinders with excitement, his heart racing. A judge-like gathering came up to him and Ford put his hands behind his back, straightening his back. One of the officials spoke up before Ford began.

"Alright, Kid. Show us what ya got." Ford took a breath and began to present.

"Okay! Well, what if I told you that the future of technology was beneath this sheet?" As he lifted the veil, Ford revealed a machine with spinning parts. Ford's presentation went on for the few minutes, but it felt more like hours to him.

Ford explained everything from how the machine worked to what it could be used for. He covered every little detail he possibly could until he was satisfied. The officials made little physical indications of what they were thinking. The silence was unbearable and seemed like forever before someone spoke up from group.

"Mr. Pines" The man said slowly handing Ford an envelope. "We look forward to seeing you at West Coast Tech next year."

Ford whooped and hollered, hardly believing that he made it. He was going to his dream school! The college representatives shook Ford's hands and for the first time Ford didn't remember about his abnormality and how it haunts him on a daily basis. They congratulated Ford as well and left having found another brilliant mind to add to their collection. Overjoyed, the young inventor made his way out of the gym.

He seemed to be smiling constantly as he made his way home. He made a few triumphant leaps into the air, speeding through the halls. Nothing could ruin this day for him.

"Stanford Pines to the principal office" a voice on the intercom rang through the hall. Stanford didn't think twice as he made his way to the office. He felt he was on an adrenalin rush, so happy thinking the school was going to praise him on his achievement.

When he got to place he needed to be, he went straight to the front desk. The secretary guided him towards the phone, explaining that he had a call for him. Ford was more than a little curious as he picked up the phone. Scenarios jumped around in his head, but, not in a million years, would he ever be able to predict this phone call.

"Stanford Pines, speaking" He spoke into the device hints of his good day in his voice. The person on the other end seemed to take a second to respond.

"Hello, Mr. Pines? We are calling because we found your brother's car this morning destroyed. You need to come down to the police station right away." Ford froze as he translated the words being spoken to him. He became pale and felt like he was going to be sick.

"What do you mean you found his car!? Is Stanley okay!?"Ford yelled into the phone.  _This had to be a joke, right? A senior prank Stanley made up, to purposely give him a heart attack._

"Sir, we will answer all your questions at the station. Please come as quick as you can." After that Ford practically bolted for the door. This was no joke. He ran faster than he ever knew possible until he reached his vehicle. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get the keys in soon enough. Everything around was too slow and his heart ached. His mind panicking at everything that could have happened, but there was one constant voice in his head. It was a voice worried for only a single name. Ford begged to all that was good in the world.  _Please, just, let him be alright. Let my brother be alright!_


	3. Chapter 3

Stanley groaned as he began to wake up. Gasping, he felt strong throbbing pain coming from his head. Where the heck was? He looked around, trying to get his mind off the pain. There was nothing much to look besides a desk. The desk was adjacent to what seemed to be the one and only door in the room. Only one way in and only one way out.

 _That's just great_. There was a window, though, but it was blinded shut with barely any light coming out of it. If it wasn't for the dim ceiling lamp above him, he would probably be in complete darkness. He could hear the sound of waves not too far away, meaning he must be near the ocean.

After observing all that was around him, he finally took a minute to look at his own situation. He was tied down to a chair in the middle of the room. He couldn't move his hands or his feet and, frankly, it was an extremely uncomfortable position. After sleeping so awkwardly, his neck will be hurting him for a month.

Stanley tested his strength against the bonds. It was useless, but, then again, Stanley was just stubborn enough to keep trying. As he struggled his mind wandered. Why had this happen to him? Out of all the stupid teenagers in New Jersey, why him? He wasn't anyone special. His family wasn't that wealthy either. Heck, in his mind, they were borderline poor. Maybe he was exaggerating a bit about being poor, but, considering the situation, we can give Stanley some slack.

 _I wonder…how long had I been out?_   _Hours? Minutes?_  He wasn't sure. Was his family looking for him? Was Ford ripping the world apart trying to find him? Probably not, but it was nice to imagine. His brother, after all, has never been a man of action like Stanley was. Ford was probably locked away in his room, reading up on West Coast Tech.

_I wonder if he got in. What am I thinking, of course he got in! They would have to be idiots not to add Ford to their nerd school._

Well I guess he wasn't going to finish High School for an entirely different reason than he had originally thought. He honestly thought that as soon as Ford left, Stanley would be kicked out of the academic eye.

 _Wait…was this some kind of senior prank?_  He thought for a moment, but then quickly chucked that idea.

 _No. Ford isn't creative enough to do something like this. That nerd doesn't even know the meaning of the word 'prank' let alone how to pull one off. I hope he's okay, though, and not doing anything stupid while I'm gone._ Stanley had always been the one to protect his twin. Whether it was from bullies or girls that honestly didn't deserve him, Stanley would be there for him.

What if…what if Stanley never sees his brother again? Who would protect him?

This was the same fear Stanley had when finding out his brother might be moving across the country, but that situation seemed trivial now compared with the fact that Stanley might die.

As Stanley's thoughts grew more worried about his family. He struggled even harder. He was starting to rock the chair back and forth, trying desperately to get free. His mind was strained with pain from the headache and panic from his fears.

 _Come on, ya Knucklehead!_ He mentally yelled at himself and the chair was wobbling even more until…snap! One of the legs broke from the chair.

 _Shit._ There was a loud crash as Stanley's face met the floor.  _Well, this is just great. Way to go, Stanley._

Stanley started to hear foot stepped running in his direction. His heart was beating wildly. What was he going to do!? Stanley quickly went into acting mode and me made it look like the fall had knocked him out.

He heard the door swing open in an alarming rate. The stranger gave a sigh of relief. Stanley could hear the sound a knife being clicked open. If Stanley wasn't scared before, then he was downright terrified now.

Stanley's kidnapper seemed to be alone, but he wasn't taking any chances. As soon as the stranger had a hand near Stanley's face, he took a bite out of the bastard's hand. The knife fell out of the person's hand and slid across the floor.

The figure yelped in pain and tried to push Stanley away from the figure's hand. The hand started to bleed. Then Stan saw who his kidnapper was. He eyed the mysterious figure with shock, letting go of the hand. Blood regrettably dripping from his mouth.

"Stanley, you asshole! Why'd you have to go and do that!?" Stan became pale because of the person that was in front of him. It was a woman and not just any woman. It was a women that he knew very well. She had long, brown wavy hair and caramel skin, which made her very pretty to look at. She wore a strange outfit that consisted of a silver full body suit and matching cloak. A tape measure with a green hourglass symbol was at her side as well as a silver messenger bag that could be seen under the cloak.

"Carla!?" Stanley yelled as she gave him a glare with piercing green eyes. Yup, it was none other than Carla McCorkle.

This didn't make sense. Carla wasn't a psychopath! Stan was sure of that.

He saw that Carla was on the verge of tears, she was holding pressure on her hand and cursing under her breath. The last time Stanley saw her was still raw in his memory, even though it was months ago. Back then, she was the only girl he ever truly liked and when she ditched him for some blonde hippie with a guitar. Well, let us just say his heart broke in half and he had to pull out all the tricks to hide his tears from his brother.

Okay so Carla was the one that had left Stan, so what was she doing kidnapping him? As much as he loved her, there was no going around that fact and he was still tied to a chair on the floor. Stan soon saw her reach for the knife again with her good hand and slide it over to his hands.

"There! Now you can go and untie yourself because I ain't going to risk another hand injury!" She said furiously. Stan felt the knife and started cutting at the ropes. Carla was still holding her injured hand close to her chest as Stan got up off the ground. He spit out some blood onto the ground with regret. He subconsciously winced as he caught a glimpse the nasty wound he made in her flesh. He walked towards her shakily and started to sit down in front of her so he get a better look at her hand. She guarded her hand looking him dead in the eyes, their noses practically touching they were so close. She was not the kind of girl to back down so easily.

 _And, boy, was she intimidating and…a little sexy._  Stanley had to admit that to himself at least.

"If you're thinking of biting me again, so help me, Stanley, I'll-" Carla was interrupted by her lips being collided by his. It couldn't have been, but a few seconds, but it felt like hours. His hands were on the floor, leaning on them for balance, as she seemed to only be leaning on his lips. Shocking him as well as herself.

Well, this was unexpected. It was almost like some un-explainable force had made him do it, the same force that had made her kiss back.

There was method to this madness, though, because as the shock of the kiss made Carla let her guard down and her protective hold of her hand weakened. Honestly, if Carla's dominant hand didn't hurt like hell, she would have slapped him right about now.

Carla's face was the reddest of reds when the kiss was departed, though. Her eyes looked away, glaring at the ground with a mixture of shock and irritation. Carla was speechless for just a second, before she cleared her throat.

"Well…I guess you missed me or something?" She said to him hiding a blush. Stanley was still recovering from the kiss as well as she was, but he still managed to roll his eyes and smile at the comment.

He examined her hand with what little therapeutic knowledge he had. While he was doing that, she reached her good hand into the silver messenger bag and pulled out a small first aid kit. She started to look through it. She flinched in pain as Stanley check to make sure her hand wasn't broken. It wasn't. That was good at least. Stanley gave her an apologetic smile and she gave him a nasty look.

"Ya know, by rights, I should be the one giving ya that look not the other way around. I mean, you were the one who kidnapped me and stuff." Stanley stated as she handed him some disinfectant spray. She frowned at the statement.

"This might sting a little." Stanley told her and she braced for the painful impact. It stung like the dickens and it took a lot of energy not to start crying.

He asked her for the gauze and she freely gave it to him. He started to wrap her hand with the medical gauze as silence hung in the air.

"So, I'm going to get some answers now right? Because the awkward silence is killing me." Carla could feel a lump form in her throat as he spoke. How was she going to tell him? Would he even believe her?

"I might as well...but I have no freakin' idea how to start." Carla honestly said.

"How bout' you tell me what happened to the blonde hippie you ran off with a few months ago?" Stan said, not hiding his bitterness towards the guy. At first Carla looked confused, but then understood who he must be talking about.

"There was no hippie, Stan. It was really a time anomaly. I was placed undercover to fix it, but I met you and it became harder for me to track it, but you actually helped me fix it in the end. You wouldn't have remembered any of this, though, because you were hit with memory rewriter, which would explain any hallucinations in your memory at the time." Stanley stared blankly at her, disbelievingly.

"Say what now?" He asked and she sighed. Of course, he didn't believe her. After everything that happened, she didn't know if she could believe herself either anymore. She wanted to cry, but she was too prideful to cry in front of Stanley.

"Long story short, I was born outside of time and I'm an undercover time operative" She pulled out the tape measure from her belt and showed it to him. "I use this to travel within time as well as outside of it." Stanley still didn't know if he could believe her and even if he did why would something like being a time cop explain kidnapping him?

"Oooookay, if that was true, that doesn't explain the kidnapping, Hotpants." She reached for something in her bag again, this time bring out two newspapers. They looked normal enough, but they had the same date. When Stanley read the title of one of them his complexion became pale. The title was "Teen Found Dead in Car." Upon further reading Stanley found out that it was his car and…his body found in it. The other newspaper didn't have much on the first page of things, but there was a sub article about his brother failing to make it to West Coast Tech.

"What the hell am I looking at, Carla?" he asked trying to understand this insanity. She pointed out that, in kidnapping him, she prevented his brother from losing the opportunity to go to his favorite collage.

"I also staged a car crash as well as using a portable copying machine to make a perfect body replica." She said in a serious tone. Her portable copying machine actually being a 2.0 version of the Mystery Shack's old school machine (with some minor improvements) was not worth mentioning. This was too much for him to absorb. So, was he legally dead now? What's the point in that?

"Why are you doing this?" He asked her almost desperately as he finished wrapping up her hand. She bit her lip and avoided eye contact.

"Because you asked me to, I mean, older you did." She replied quietly, but just enough for him to hear.

"Why would I ask you to do something like fake my death!? That makes no sense!" Stanley yelled and she burst into hot tears.

"You didn't ask me to fake your death! You wanted me to kill you, because of all the stupid mistakes you made and I loved you too much to say no!" She yelled back at him and the room became deathly quiet. The walls seemed to still echo with the anger and fear in her voice. She started to sob. She didn't want any of this.

Carla wanted to delve deep into herself and never come back out until she stopped hating herself for abandoning him so long ago. Back in the original timeline, she hadn't seen him again until he was old and full of regrets. She had actually caught him trying to change the past, but timelines he made never stuck.

Only a person from outside of time can change the timeline. So Carla did just that, for him, but if Stanley goes back now, the timeline could readjust itself back to normal. If that happened there would be nothing she could do. It's similar to atomic radiation, the fall out takes time to clear out. It would be another 10 years or so before she could try again.

Stanley started to stand up and his facial expression was dark and cold. "I need to get back home to my family." He said strictly to her. It was almost like he could read her mind. He turned his back to her and started to leave.

"You can't do that, Stan! It's not safe for the timeline, you idiot!" She tried to reason with him, but nothing she said made him stop walking towards the door. He loved her, but the price of his family was too much for a simple crush.

All Stanley cared about was his family and making sure they were okay. Even though walking away made him hurt more than night that he lost her, he kept moving.

"I'm sorry, Stan." Her words came out shaky. Stan had just enough time to turn around as his face became consumed with fear.

The blast sound hung in the air and Carla's heart was broken entirely. She would never be the same again. A heart can only break so many times, until the pieces just become dust. Then there was that sound…that awful sound, which had killed her just the same as any bullet could.

She would be running for the rest of her life now. She had broken one of the most sacred rules of her people. She was never supposed to be able to kill anybody that wasn't an anomaly. Too late for that now, I guess.


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning...! You have been warned. :D**

**Earlier that morning…**

Ford's mind was racing as he drove to the police station. He more or less ignored his usual cautious type personality by this point. He could care less about speeding, he had to find out if his brother was okay. He had to be okay.

The anxiety practically consumed Ford by the time he made it to the station. Questions and scenarios were crowded in Ford's head, but there was one constant plea throughout the chaos. He begged for Stanley to be alive. If anything he at least wished he wasn't brain dead, because then he would have hope. Sadly that is not the case. As soon as he entered the building he found his parents coming out of a room with inexpressible emotions on their faces.

Ford ran right past him and tried to get into the room, only to be held back by his father and a police officer. Ford had already guessed that his brother was in the room. He just had to get in there.

"Let me go, I have to see him!" Ford yelled and his father only pushed him farther away.

"Now, you listen here! You are not gettin' anywhere near that door!" Mr. Pines warned, but there was something more in his voice. If Ford didn't know better he would have called it fear. Mr. Pines was not a bad man and he was not at all the type of guy to cry. He was, though, one that would protect the things he cares about. He would protect his family by any means necessary and that included keeping his son out of that room. Mrs. Pines was off to the side, feeling completely helpless, though she would never show it. She knew better than to drop her mask. It was, after all, her best self-defense from the excruciating grief she would undoubtedly have to deal with.

Ford, on the other hand, had no intention of hiding his feelings like his parents. He had a right to see his brother and nothing was going to stop him. That is until the unthinkable happened.

"Please, Son. Don't go in there, please." His father whispered in desperation. Ford's eyes went wide and he slowly started to surrender to his father's will. It was a known fact that Mr. Pines never says the word 'please' and he never, ever begs. If anything, Ford's father had despised the act of begging and had more than once called it an atrocity of mankind. It showed weakness and for Mr. Pines to show weakness, the world was surely coming to an end. Or, more accurately, the world as the Pines family knows it.

Ford seemed to collapse his father's arms and Filbrick Pines was less than prepared for it. Ford, more or less, expected his father to push him away and tell him suck it up and be a man. This, however, was not one of those times. Even if Filbrick would never admit it, but he needed someone to hold onto too. So, for a while, Mr. Pines held his son close to him protectively as Ford sobbed hysterically. Mrs. Pines joined them in no time flat and wrapped her arms around her boys. They stayed like that for what seemed like a very long time, until Ford finally stopped sobbing.

"W-what happened?" Ford asked his father with a trembling voice. Filbrick's heart dropped and he tried his hardest to hold back tears. How could Filbrick tell him? There was no good way he could think of to explain of what happened. Mr. Pines opened his mouth to speak, only for someone else to say the dreadful news instead.

"Stanley's dead. He died in a car crash and your father and I just had to ID the body." Filbrick was taken aback as he looked at his wife. Her eyes were closed as fresh tears were coming down her face. Her voice was clear, but that only made it the more evident to hear the hurt. A hurt that only a mother can express. Filbrick's heart broke at the sound of his wife's pain and soon enough his fists were clenched. Whoever did this to Stanley was going to pay, even if Mr. Pines had to do it himself.

One of the officers looked sympathetically at the family. The officer silently regretted what he had to do next. It was probably one of the worst things to say, but he had a job to do.

"Mr. and Mrs. Pines, I need you to answer a few questions before you leave as well as your son." Filbrick's eyes were filled with rage and he wanted to straight out punch the man in the face. It was an illogical rage, of course, and the only reason he didn't do so was because his family was there. So he defaulted to verbal abuse.

"Why the hell do you need to question us?!" He growled at the man and the officer wisely took a step back. That's when the chief of police intervened. The chief spoke with a strong, serious tone, with only a small amount of comfort.

"We have reason to believe your son's death wasn't an accident and we need to ask your family questions to find out who the bastard or bastards are who did this."

By the time the questions were going on, the Pines family knew it was going to be a long and hard night.

It was already dark by the time the Pines family got home, after the dreadful day of questioning. There was sure to be more tomorrow, but for now the family was just glad to be home. Mr. Pines was the first to shut himself away in his study. His pain was indescribable and to even attempt to write it down would be futile. Ms. Pines on the other hand, was taking the loss better than the rest of her family. At least, she was starting to move on. She let out every stage of grief known to man simultaneously. It became her breaking point. She went through agonies that only a mother could go through. That a mother should never have to go through.

Ford sat on the edge of his brother's bed. He stared at the picture in his hands. It was a picture and him and Stanley after a boxing match. Ford's eyes started to well up with tears and some of them dropped onto the picture. He inhaled erratically, trying to control his overwhelming feelings, only to let out a heartrending sob. He held onto the image tighter making it wrinkle in his hands. Then he all of a sudden tossed the picture aside. It just hurt too much to look at anymore. He couldn't take it, after everything that happened that day.

 _He can't be gone._  He thought as he sobbed harder.  _He was right here yesterday. He was alive yesterday! A person cannot just be alive one minute and gone the next! It's not fair. It's not fair!_ He got up from the bed in a flash of desperation. It just couldn't stay there anymore. He could feel the pain eating him alive. He needed to get out of there.

Ford put on some shows and grabbed a jacket as he made his way outside of the house. He ran and ran until he reached a familiar place. It wasn't his plan to end up there and honestly it was one the last places he wanted to be. But, somehow he made his way to the one place he could grieve. It was the last place he saw his brother.

His tearful eyes were shocked as he looked at the swing set. The cool breeze gently rocking the seats back and forth. It was peaceful, almost too peaceful. Ford found himself running to the swing set. He stopped, his fists clenched. Why couldn't Ford have stopped his brother? If he would have just said something or did something to make Stanley stay. This was all his fault!

Ford took ahold of the seat that was his, with only half a mind. He ripped it from the swing set, chain and all. He started to break the wooden board into as many pieces as he could with his legs, until they were too small to break. He was blind with rage and he didn't care if his hands and legs hurt. Ford hated himself for being so blind. He couldn't have just stopped Stanley this one time. Ford should have known his brother was going to avoid home and he should have stopped him!  _Was it worth the cost of my brother's life? Just for some school!?_

Ford stopped as he look at the broken seat with regret.  _I-it was all my fault. Nothing I could do. All my fault._

With that, Ford simply sat in on the ground next to his brother's swing. His mind became flooded with his guilt, pain, and regret.

After a while, Ford found himself home again and it was still very late. His ma and pa must be asleep by now or, at least, they should be. Ford walked up the stairs, but when he got to his room memories started flooding back to him. He couldn't go in there, he wasn't ready for those memories. It would be better if he went and slept on the couch down stairs. Ford started to make his way down, when he stopped himself passing the nursery.

A whole new wave of sorrow came over him. Before he knew it, he was inside and found little Shermy in his crib. Ford cautiously walked over, but he stepped on a squeaky board and froze. Shermy stirred in his sleep and started to cry at the rude awakening. Ford started to panic. Why was he even in here, again? Without thinking he reached into the crib and started to rock his little brother in his arms. For once, he wasn't worried about his six fingered hands hurting Shermy. Ford only felt the need to stop the baby from crying.

"Shh. Shh. It's alright. Please, don't cry." He whispered frantically as he gently rocked Shermy. Ford slowed his swaying down a bit, when a sudden thought crossed his mind.

_He'll never get to know Stanley. Shermy will grow up only hearing stories the brother he never knew._

That was the breaking point as Ford began sobbing while holding his little brother. He sat down in a nearby chair and Shermy almost looked up sympathetically up at Ford.

"I-I'm s-sorry. It's all my fault. Y-you won't get to know your brother." He sobbed harder.

"It's not your fault." Ford shot up as he eyed his mother standing by the doorway. She looked like she had been crying her eyes out for hours and that was more or less true. She made her way to her sons and looked Ford in the eyes. "This is not your fault, Stanford. No one could have known what was going to happen." She said strongly.

"B-but I could have stopped him. I could have-" He was cut off by his mom.

"No. You couldn't have. We both know that Stanley was stubborn and if he wanted to go, no one could stop him." Ford thought about this for a moment. He didn't want to admit it, but she was right. Stanley was stubborn, but he felt like he needed to blame someone or something. Ford needed someone to blame, because if he didn't that would mean giving up something. He would have to give up what little control he had left in the world. If couldn't blame himself, then what was the point?

His mother had tears running down her face, seeing her baby in such pain. How could she make him understand that these things just happen? They're outside of everyone's control and that includes Fords. She eventually got Ford to put her son back to in his crib so Shermy could get some sleep. They made their ways to the kitchen where she made some warm milk for them both.

Ford only stared at the cups contents as his mom sat parallel to him. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. He found himself squeezing her hand, but she didn't mind.

"Sweetpie…I know it's hard, but believe me when I say it's not your fault. What happened was tragic and the people or person responsible will get what coming to them. I promise." He looked up at her sincere face. She was right. This wasn't an accident, but could the police really find out who did this? Maybe…maybe he would have to end up doing his own investigation.

So, he simply nodded and after they were done with their drinks, they finally made their ways to bed. Ford ending up sleeping on the couch, like he originally planned.

* * *

**Sometime in the past, in the future, in the original timeline. (Ouch, time travel logic makes my brain hurt)…also before the kidnapping…**

A young Fiddleford McGucket sat at a tiny table in the corner of the gnome bar. He was nervously fiddling with a fork, until a familiar cloaked figure walked into the bar. She took off her hood to reveal that it was Carla McCorkle before she kidnapped Stan. She made her way over to the young inventor and he tried his best not to be nervous.

"Do you have what I asked for?" She asked him directly. She was not in the mood for pleasantries and wanted to get this over with.

"Why y-yes, I have it right here." His southern accent replied shakily as he straightened his glasses. He began to search into a bag pulled out the item of trade. It was a very strange looking gun made up of a light bulb and other mechanical components. Carla never took off her poker face as she eyed the machine. She knew better than to play her hand so soon.

"Are you sure it works?" She asked with a skeptical look as the item was casually handed to her.

"Of course, it does! I'm not a fabricator. Hmph. That honor goes to someone else." That defiantly ruffled his feathers. Good.

"So explain to me how it works then." She said not taking her eyes off the draftsman. He gave an annoyed scoff like he was having to explain something to an idiot. Carla tried not to look offended.

"All you do is turn the dial to spell out the something you want erased and then point and shot." He said as he got up from his chair and crossed his arms. "Now as for my payment, missy." Carla expression went dark and started to reach something in her silver messenger bag.

"As promised, McGucket, I will make sure you never ever make your way to Gravity Falls." She handed took out a black and green wrist bracelet.

"How will I know if you'll keep your side of the agreement?" He asked desperately as she started to leave. She threw him the bracelet.

"That bracelet will make it so your memory is not affected when the change happens. After that, all you have to do is take it off and Gravity Falls will be but a dream."

"More like a nightmare." He murmured as he gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes.

"Pleasure, doing business with you." That was the last thing she said before she erased everyone's memory of who she was. But, don't worry, Fiddleford will not forget the deal, even if he doesn't know who he made it with.

* * *

  **Prologue to chapter 5…**

The sound hung in the air and she still could hardly believe what she had done. The weapon shook in her hands before dropping it to the ground. Carla fell to the ground and cried. She had no other choice, if she didn't her trip would have been for nothing. She couldn't allow Stan to leave.

She began to get up, flinching in pain when she put pressure on her injured hand. She walked over to the unconscious body. She knelt down to check for damage. He'll at least be a little sore, after a blast that strong. That's not the only thing that will be sore, though. He won't remember anything, except his name, now and that will indeed give him headaches for the rest of his life. After all, that's what a memory eraser gun will do when you set it just right. But, what was she going to do now? She had a feeling that there was only one place she could leave him. He would be safe there in Gravity Falls.


	5. Chapter 5

Stanley Pines, or what used to be Stanley Pines, was surrounded by blackness. Voices of people long forgotten filled every facet. The voices were so distorted that nothing could be understood from them. They only got louder and louder until it was unbearable. Stanley shut his eyes forcefully and covered his ears. He desperately tried to block out the vocals and memories. As one voice became more and more intense, the others started to dull into echoing whispers. Every voice from the beginning was completely unfamiliar to Stanley, but this voice carried something. This voice above all others carried a feeling Stanley didn’t understand. The voice held something deep and almost painful. To Stanley it almost felt like…love, but that can’t be. This love wasn’t like the love he understood, it held no romance.

The voice was deafening to the point where Stanley could no longer hear himself think. What was this voice even saying? What did it want? Stanley tensed with pain. If his ears weren’t bleeding before they had to be bleeding now. Tears came from his eyes and he shook uncontrollable. He just wanted it all to stop.  _Please just let it stop!_

The voice subtly came into clearness saying one thing and one thing alone. It sounded important, but Stanley still couldn’t make it out until suddenly…

“STANLEY!!!” the voice shouted coming into clarity, sending the name as well as a great deal of pain into the teenager’s ears. It unbearably kept building onto the name with different memories with the same voice. Stanley wished with all his being to pass out or die, just to be released from this torment. Stanley had to fight back, it was just too painful to try and remember.

 “SHUT UP!” Stanley screamed and the darkness and sounds imploded off each other. A blurry light and scenery coming into view. Stanley trembled with fear having the incomprehensible feeling of losing something.

Stanley fell through the light as he came in consciousness, forgetting the nightmare and voice entirely.

Stanley jerks up gasping for air. Covered in a cold sweat, he looks around frantically still consumed by the feeling a fear from his nightmare. That fear only lasts a few seconds before it’s covered up by a splitting pain coming from his head.

 _W-Where am I?_  He thinks as he looks around. Hands grasp at the cool grass and the night air makes him shiver. He can’t think straight and the world is spinning. He feels like he’s going to pass out, but, as luck would have it, he is too stubborn too. Managing to will himself up, his vision becomes unfocused as he sways around in the dark. Gritting his teeth, he fights back and ends up finding something to hold on to. It feels like a wooden pole and at the moment of contact he has the sensation of splinters digging into his skin. The splinters doesn’t hurt his hands, but something stirs inside him. It’s like something is trying to emerge from his mind, something familiar. But another surge of pain quickly makes him forget whatever it was that was trying to develop in his mind.

After a minute, he finds the strength to look at what he’s holding. It was a wooden pole, but more than that, it looked like a sign post. Backing away slowly, he takes a better look at the structure. 

 _Welcome to Gravity falls,_ Stanley reads it to himself and it takes him a minute to realize it’s a town.

 _The hell…!? How did I get here!? If where the hell is here!? What am I even doing here!? Okay, last thing I remember is…shit. Shit! I-I can’t remember anything! Nothing! Who the hell even gets in these kinds of situations!? Did I join a cult or something!? No, no I’d probably be dead then. Wait, does someone want me dead!?_  As crazed thoughts of panic run through his mind he finds himself looking back up at the sign. He grits his teeth as though he was biting down on his panic state.

“Alright” He grits “time to get some answers.” Determinedly, he makes his way to small secluded village. This town can help him, heck, it has to.

It wasn’t very far to Gravity Falls, but in the shape Stanley was in it was still no picnic. Where the heck was he even going to start when he gets there? Maybe there’s something in his pockets like an id or something. He quickly checked his pockets. Nothing. He groaned, now back to square one.

He walked into the town and Stanley couldn’t help but feel alone. The nightlife was nonexistent in Gravity Falls and nothing even looked slightly familiar. After an hour or two, Stanley started to get more and more frustrated. Walking around he managed to find 6 dead ends, a bar, a rundown hotel, a museum, the police station, city hall, a grocery store, some small businesses, one apartment building, and a diner.

Nothing. Not even a spark of memory came to him. He was starting to believe he’s never once been in this place in his entire life. It was also getting colder.

 _Great, just what I need. Just my luck, it’s probably on the edge of freakin winter or something!_  He thought angrily as he drew closer to the diner. His hands made fists in his pockets. Brown eyes narrowed and fixed on his problems.  _I have no memories, no friends, no family, I don’t even have a wanted poster for crying out loud!!_ He stops in front of a trash can.

“WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO!?” he screams as he kicks the trash can with his feet. It a huge clatter, but no one seems to notice. Stanley was in full rage mood, becoming hurt beyond all recognition. He wanted someone to blame. He wanted someone to help him. He wanted to go home, wherever that was.

Stanley punches a nearby tree repeatedly. It was a young community tree, but still tough enough to take every one of Stanley’s punches. When he was finally done punching the tree he looked down at his already bruising his hands. He clenched them and made a promise that he was going to figure this out, no matter what.

*Timeskip*

Stanley Pines was down on his luck, with no leads as to who he is or where he comes from. He went to the police station and low and behold treated him as a joke. It took some time to finally get them to do their job. The police did a check for missing kids or runaways that matched Stanley’s description and nothing showed. They even tried him by his finger prints and that didn’t even show up anything. Stanley knew he had to get out of there before they thought of putting him in an orphanage or deport him or something crazy like that.

It wasn’t hard escaping the cops, Stanley was smarter after all. He found ended up finding himself at the Gravity Falls Lake. He sat on the little beach, his hands mindlessly playing with the sand as his eyes looked out onto the lake. The lake shimmered while the dying sun began to be swallowed up by the forest. It was beautiful and peaceful, but Stanley couldn’t enjoy it. Something in him felt like it was breaking at the sight, though he didn’t know why. It would be another night soon, a night with no place to go.

 _I could leave_ , he thought to himself,  _but where would I go? No. I can’t leave. This hic town is my only clue to where I come from. I didn’t just end up in this place by accident._ His mind wandered back to how the policemen found nothing.  _So, the cops didn’t find anything. Big deal. I’ll just have to try something else. People just don’t disappear without someone noticing. That is, if a person like that even exists for me. If only I could remember my name it would be easier or anything really. Just a clue. Though I doubt something is going to show up by itself. Nah, that only happens in the movies._

Just then he noticed the two twin girls playing in the water. They both had light-dark caramel like skin and curly dark hair. They couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10 years old, splashing each other joyfully. One girl had her hair up with a thick, worn red bandana with a gold Aztec design on it, while the other girl let her hair down. You would surely not be able to tell them apart if it wasn’t for their different colored swimsuits with matching side skirts.

From what Stanley could guess, their parents were probably busy getting ready to leave. Then Stanley noticed something in the water.  _Was that an alligator!?_ Stanley thought as a monstrous head came up from behind the girls. The girls screamed when they turned around to look at beast. Adrenalin came rushing through Stanley’s muscles as he raced towards the girls. He had no time to think, let alone care about what that thing coming out of the lake was. All that mattered were the kids. For a moment he feared he’d be too late as the beast opened his mouth to bite down on the twin girls.

“Not today, Ugly!” Stanley yelled as he left hooked the monster in the face. Stanley made it so if this creature wanted those girls it would have to go through him first. It roared at Stanley, but he stood his ground.

“Hey, little girls, get the heck out of here!” He yelled, but it looked like the girls were frozen with terror.

 _Oh great, they can’t even run away._ Stanley gritted his teeth, dodging the beast’s attacks. Dang what he wouldn’t do for some brass knuckles or, better yet, a gun.  _Stupid kids,_ Stanley thought to himself, but could he really blame them? This was the stuff of nightmares and they were nine year olds. They didn’t stand a chance.

The creature swung its head knocking Stanley out of the way. Stanley must have hit his head on something as his vision became disoriented. Yeah, definitely a concussion. Ouch. The creature turned its head toward the girls a hungry gleam in its eyes. The girls were shaking and crying as the monster came closer and closer. Stanley grabbed the closest think he could a through it at the beast. It turned back to Stanley and hissed as a rather big rock hit its head.

“Hey! Pick on someone your own size, you stupid overgrown lizard!” Just as planned the monster went after Stanley again ready to probably kill him. Fat chance of that for when the monster was on top of Stanley, he only smirked at the thing as he revealed a sharp looking stick from behind his back and pushed it into the creature’s chest. There was blood and an unearthly scream as the monster fled in to the lake, but in the commotion Stanley did not see the beast’s tail as it whipped him in the face. His body could only take so much damage and that last hit sent him over the edge. It felt like he was hit with a brick as his vision became darker and darker. He saw two tinny figures running toward him with an even bigger figure close behind them.

*Blacked out*

Stanley had a dream and it wasn’t like the others he’s had since he’s arrived in the small town. This was different and like all dreams it didn’t make a lick of sense what he was seeing. Though he could say those twin girl showed up a lot and he felt something. This feeling grew and grew until he felt something break and he woke up.

*Gasp!* Stanley stood up from what seemed to be a green couch.  _How the heck did I get here? Where the heck is here?!_ Stanley couldn’t help but have the feeling of déjà vu. This is the second time he’s woken up in a place confused.  _This better not be becoming a habit!_ Stanley thought to himself angrily. He looked around and he looked like he was in someone’s house. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw something move. Stanley tensed up, but relaxed when it was only one of the little girls from earlier hiding in the archway shyly. Then Stanley remember the monster and everything that happened.  _So that was really happened…good to know._ The girl came out a little more and it turned out her sister was with her too.

“Uh… hi” Stanley said and the girl behind the shy one walked up to him before the shy one could stop her.

“Are you ok, señor?” The brave one asked curiously, her sister trying to decide whether to join her or not. It seemed that the shy one lost that argument and went to join the brave one.

“Muchas gracias, señor, for saving us.” Stanley could tell the shy one was struggling with her English. He smiled in reply as the girl blushed, obviously embarrassed by her English. They must have taken care of him after he blacked out, though that doesn’t explain why he’s on a couch and not a hospital bed.

“Usted era incre- uh I mean, you were awesome! My name is Angela Ramirez and this is my twin sister Magdalena. What’s yours?” The brave one said pointing to her sister. Angela talked fast and was a lot better at English. To Angela, Spanish and English had melded together in her brain so she sometimes mixes the few up by accident. Magdalena on the other hand, had to concentrate on every word so her speech came out slow and hesitant. Stanley’s eyes widen.

 _They’re twins… ouch!_ His head erupted with pain and placed a hand on it flinching. Magdalena gave him a concerned look.

“Are you okay?” Magdalena asked. As quick as the pain came it went, as he looked into the faces of the little girls he saved only hours ago.

“I remember…” Stanley unconsciously whispered to himself. A distorted memory ran across his mind’s eye, but more important than that he saw a name written in sharpie on the moist wall of a cave. It was happened so fast that Stanley barley understood what was happening. “Stan…my name’s Stan.” Stan felt like he might cry. He remembered his name. He could find out who he is.

The girls looked at each other, then Angela turned to look at him. “It is nice to meet you, Stan.”

After a while the girls went back to bed and Stan was so happy to have a name, his name. Though there was a lot still missing in his memory, this gave him hope. He was going to find out who he was. Stan couldn’t help but smile as he dozed off to sleep.

He would not have any nightmares that night.

* * *

  ***Guardian Cherisher sulking in the corner***

**Me: *sigh***

***Ford and Stan walk over and then stop***

**Stan: What’s wrong with her?**

**Ford: I don’t know. I just found her like this. Is there anything you can do?**

**Stan: Me!? Why me!?**

**Ford: Well, she is your favorite!**

**Stan: Oh so it’s my fau-**

**Me: Will you two STOP IT!!**

***Stan and Ford freeze***

***Sigh* *turns to audience* Me: Sorry, guys, for the hostility. I just found out that Gravity Falls is ending. I’m a little down about it, but I’ll be alright. Also, sorry for the super late update and instead of giving excuses I’ll just say thanks for the reviews because they really helped with having me to update. Also sorry if this update is a little short too. So, as always, you guys are awesome. *turns to Ford and Stan* And as for you two.**

**Ford: Oh boy**

**Me: You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine, even when the series ends the fandom won’t. So, I’m okay.**

***Stan and Ford smile sadly* Stan: Glad to hear it, kid**

**Ford: yeah…**

**Me: …um, could I maybe get a hug, though?**

**Ford: Um I’m not really a hugger…**

***Stan elbows Ford giving him that look***

**Ford: Fine**

***Stan and Ford Hugs* Me: Thanks, guys**

**Stan: Your welcome, Shiny.**

**Ford: Yeah**

**Me: Next time we’ll see what Ford’s up to.**

**Ford: oh goodie**

**Stan: haha**


End file.
